Song of the Sea (video game)
Song of the Sea is a 2017 RPG party video game. It is based on the film of the same name directed by Tomm Moore. The game was published by Ubisoft Entertainment and was developed by Ubisoft Montpellier for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. The game was released on October 31st 2017 in North America, October 27th in PAL regions and January 7th 2018 in Japan. It is the first video game to be officially translated, dubbed and localized to Irish. Composers Bruno Coulais and Kíla, who composed the movie's soundtrack composed all new tracks exclusive to this game. Tomm Moore and Will Collins (writer of the movie) worked along the game to ensure creative assurance while Rayman creator Michel Ancel directed the game. Story The game follows along the story of the film, although the game is set after the film, where Ben is telling Saoirse the story of the film. The game is set in flashback. WARNING: SPOILERS START HERE Conor, a lighthouse keeper, lives on an island with son Ben, his pregnant wife Bronach, and sheepdog Cú. Bronach disappears late one night, presumably dying after childbirth, leaving behind daughter Saoirse. Six years later, Conor is broken, Saoirse is mute, and Ben is antagonistic towards Saoirse, blaming her for Bronach's disappearance. On Saoirse's birthday, they are visited by their grandmother, "Granny". That night, Ben scares Saoirse with a story of Mac Lir and his mother Macha, the Owl Witch, who stole his feelings and turned him to stone. Later, Saoirse plays a seashell horn given to Ben by their mother, leading her to a white sealskin coat in Conor's closet. She wears the coat and walks to a group of seals in the sea, revealing her as a selkie. After swimming, she is found by Granny, who insists upon taking the children to the city. Conor reluctantly agrees despite Ben's protests, and locks the coat in a chest, throwing it into the sea. On Halloween, Saoirse plays the seashell, alerting Færie to her. She and Ben attempt to go home, but encounter the Færie, hopeful that Saoirse will allow them to return to Tír na nÓg. However, they are attacked by Macha's owls, turning the Færie to stone. They take a country bus, where they run into Cú, who had followed them. However, Saoirse is growing ill. They come across a sacred well that Saoirse dives into. Ben follows and meets the Great Seanachaí: They learn that she was kidnapped by Macha, and that she is mute because she needs the coat, otherwise she will die. He gives Ben one of his hairs that will lead him to Macha. As he follows the hair, it shows him that Bronach - a selkie herself - had to return to the ocean when Saoirse was born. Ben then meets Macha, who explains that when Mac Lir suffered from a broken heart, she turned him into an island near their home. She is determined to do the same for everyone, even herself. Ben manages to rescue Saoirse, giving Macha back her feelings and allowing her to recognize that taking away feelings doesn't help. She helps them fly them back home, and Conor attempts to take Saoirse to a hospital; simultaneously, Granny is near the island to find them. Ben dives into the sea in search of Saoirse's coat, and recovers it with the seals and Conor. The group is then washed up on Mac Lir's island, where Saoirse's health is fully restored and she sings the Song of the Sea. The Færie rise and travel to Mac Lir and he emerges with Macha and his dogs as they head home to Tír na nÓg. Bronach appears preparing to depart with Saoirse, but Ben pleads to let her stay with them. Since she is half-human, the choice rests with Saoirse, who elects to remain behind with her father and brother, even though it means giving up her selkie powers and becoming fully human. Accepting her daughter's decision, Bronach takes her coat and departs. After a tearful farewell, the Faeries depart across the sea, and Ben and his family happily return home to their island, where Granny finally arrives, and decides the children can stay with their father. Ben and Saoirse reconcile and become friends. SPOILERS END HERE Gameplay Story Mode Story Mode is a turn based RPG. The mode lets you explore around locations from the movie, including Dublin, the roundabout and the lighthouse just to name a few. Enemies appear in the game, such as Macha’s owls, goblins, banshees, and various other creatures based on Irish mythology and folklore. Defeating any of these will cause Ben and Saoirse to gain some experience points. Ben and Saoirse are both playable in this mode but they differ in stats. Ben has better speed than jump, whereas Saoirse has better jump than speed. Both characters can jump on the enemies, and they also offer some different attacks to defeat enemies. For example, Saoirse offers an attack using her shell, and Ben can lasso and kick the enemies. They can also team up and form a dual-attack, which will cause Ben and Saoirse to team up and form a strong attack. Story mode also features puzzle elements, where they have to pull switches or explore areas one character cannot. The mode can be played in multiplayer for two players for co-op gameplay. The players can also acquire weapons such as a sword, a hurley, and other weapons. When Cú is in the game, the player can ride on him by pressing the R button (Switch) / R1 button (PS4) / right bumper (Xbox One) and he gives off a great speed but his jump is lackluster. Players can also call in Cú in a fight once they encounter him. Sometimes, the gameplay can vary. Most of the time, it is a free-roaming turn-based RPG, but in other points it can be a rhythm game (like whenever Saoirse plays the shell, or the Daoine Sídhe minigame). Party Mode Party Mode plays similarly to Mario Party in which players are laid out on a map and they go around squares trying to get hold of Saoirse’s coat, which is located at a random square on the map. The player who has Saoirse's coat, as well as the most credits, by the end of the game wins the game. The mode can be played in single player (with three computer players) or multiplayer. The Great Seanachaí hosts this mode. The mode features credits that can be collected to spend in stalls on the map or to get a bus (controlled by the bus driver) or ferry (controlled by Ferry Dan), though 10 credits are awarded to each player at the start of each game. At the start of each game, players roll the dice to see who goes first. The player with the highest number goes first. At the end of each round, there is a minigame, whether it be two-on-two, one-on-three, duel (one-on-one) or a free-or-all minigame. The winner receives a 20 credit bonus. If a player lands on the same square as another player or computer player, they will do a rock-paper-scissors battle. If they succeed, they will take the credits the other player had. If they fail, the other player will take their credits. If the other player has Saoirse’s coat, they can also do a rock-paper-scissors battle to steal the coat. If the player succeeds, they get to take the coat. Squares 'Blue squares: '''Gives the player 5 extra credits. '''Red squares: '''Makes the player lose 5 credits. '''Yellow squares: '''The player plays a bonus minigame to earn more credits. '''Green squares: '''Triggers a random event by the use of a roulette. '''Cú squares: '''If a player lands on them, then Cú will appear to help you and to steal another player’s credits/coat. After being used, they are replaced with Macha squares. '''Macha squares: '''If a player land on those squares, Macha’s owls will take them, and the coat, to a different square, therefore losing the coat they had. They will also lose 20 credits if you land on those squares. After being used, they are replaced with Cú squares. '''Bus/Ferry: '''These will take you to a particular part of the board. They cost 30 credits. On the last round, the bus and ferry are closed. '''Stalls: '''These will stop you at a stall where you can buy an item for a particular number of credits. These items can include multipliers, more dice, sídhe forms, etc. On the last round, the stalls are closed. Extras to unlock from the story mode There are various extras to be unlocked. After you complete each stage in story mode, you will be given a movie clip which can be unlocked in the extras gallery. However, there are also other hidden extra collectables to be found. Hidden in the areas are also concept art as well as more movie clips to be added to the extras gallery. Playable characters The game features Ben and Saoirse as playable characters in Story Mode while the Party Mode features eight playable characters (eleven in the Nintendo Switch version). Note that Mii, Mario and Luigi are all exclusive characters to the Switch version. Cú (though ride-able and can be summoned in a fight in story mode), The Great Seanachaí, Macha, Mac Lír (in Party Mode, he is a location), Ferry Dan and the Bus Driver are all non-playable though they do appear in both story and party modes. Voice cast All of the voice actors from the movie reprised their roles in this game. Options Audio * Music volume * SFX volume * Voice volume * Master volume Language * US version: English, French, Latin Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese * PAL version: English, Irish, French, German, Italian, Castilian Spanish, Dutch, European Portuguese, Catalan * Japan version: Japanese Controls * Vibration ON/OFF Subtitles * ON/Movies and cutscenes only/OFF * Subtitle speed Visual * Screen size * Screen adjust Reception The game received positive reviews from critics. Critics mainly praised the game for its graphics, gameplay, music and faithfulness to the source material, but criticized it for its length and for its party mode being a little similar to Mario Party. IGN gave the Switch version of the game a 8.5 out of 10 stating “''whether you are a kid or a big fan of Mr. Moore’s works, this neat little piece of software should entertain you” they talked about the RPG section for being “''fun and entertaining, with energetic battles, but we wish there was just a tad bit more to keep us engaged''”. However, they praised the party section for being “''a Mario Party clone that manages to end up solid and entertaining and is sure to keep your friends glad with its quirky minigames and fun characters they'll remember from the movie''” They also praised this game’s extras for containing interviews, behind the scenes and unlockable clips from the film. However, IGN gave the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of the game a 8.2 out of 10 as they thought “''the motion controls on the Switch version made the minigames more interesting to play''” Category:Nintendo Switch Games Category:PlayStation 4 Games Category:Xbox One games Category:PC Games Category:Games based on movies Category:Role-playing games Category:Party Games Category:2017 video games Category:Video games developed in France Category:Movie Video Games Category:Microsoft Windows Category:Games Category:Video Games Category:Ubisoft Category:Xbox One Games Category:XBox One Games Category:PS4 Games Category:PS4 games Category:PS4 Category:Nintendo Switch Category:Nintento Switch Category:PlayStation 4 Category:PlayStation 4 games Category:RPG